


on the reintroduction and recovery of endangered species

by PhoenixAccio



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, star wars comic - Fandom
Genre: Clone Troopers Speak Mando'a (Star Wars), Force-Sensitive Clone Troopers (Star Wars), Gen, Post-Order 66 (Star Wars), Reunions, glitch is force-sensitive for real bc he deserves it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:08:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28705683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixAccio/pseuds/PhoenixAccio
Summary: Rex and Ahsoka make an emergency landing and find something they weren't expecting.
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Glitch & Horns (Star Wars)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 61





	on the reintroduction and recovery of endangered species

Ahsoka ducked as a blaster bolt whizzed over her head, reaching out with one lightsaber to block another from hitting Rex. The Stormtroopers they were extracting were putting up a good fight, but they weren't _that_ good. Ahsoka darted forwards and grabbed one, reaching under his helmet until her fingers found skin and knocking him out with the Force. The trooper went limp immediately, and Ahsoka lowered him gently to the ground before moving to her next target. 

Behind her, Rex caught a trooper of his own with a stun to the chest. Ahsoka glanced at him momentarily, but quickly returned to the matter at hand. Rex could take care of himself. Another trooper to Ahsoka's left went down with a flash of Rex's blaster, and Ahsoka nodded and made for the last one. Knowing what was coming, the Stormtrooper fired off several bolts from his blaster in Ahsoka's general direction. 

_The visibility through those helmets really must be awful,_ Ahsoka thought as all three shots missed her completely. The blaster was twisted out of the trooper's hand quickly, and Ahsoka hoped she hadn't broken anything in his wrist as she caught hold of him and put him to sleep. Instead of dropping him, Ahsoka swung the trooper up over her shoulders, a hand on each set of limbs for balance, and turned around to check on Rex. 

"I'm fine," Rex called, and hefted a trooper of his own over his shoulders, mimicking Ahsoka's grip. 

"Uh," he stopped, catching sight of their getaway vehicle, and the three smoking holes in the ship's hull. "But our ride isn't." 

The buzz of victory drained from Ahsoka's mind like the blood in her face. 

"That's not good," she said bluntly. 

"It is not," Rex agreed. "Let's get these guys on-board first, though. Maybe we got lucky and she'll still fly." 

"Shut up, you'll jinx it!" Ahsoka hissed as the door swept down into a ramp. She may not have been with the Order anymore, but the Jedi lessons of the Force's petty contrarian side were something of a permanent fixture in her mind, especially considering how frequently they were reinforced with new evidence. 

"Sorry, sorry," Rex conceded, making his way into their _hopefully still functional_ shuttle to drop off his trooper, freeing his arms for the next. They loaded the other three troopers onboard in focused silence, getting them set up in the rudimentary med-bay. Rex slipped into the cockpit to run systems checks, leaving Ahsoka with the clones he'd stunned to knock them out properly. The stun bolts were good, but the Force wouldn't wear off nearly as quickly. These troopers would sleep until Ahsoka herself woke them up. When she finished, Ahsoka grabbed a roll of duraflex tape and went out to check out the damage. 

The blaster holes were relatively close together in the hull, and positioned somewhere that _hopefully_ meant the bolts themselves hadn't hit anything vital. No smoke was coming out of them, which Ahsoka decided was a good sign. Sighing, she tore a strip of tape off the roll and pressed it down over the closer two holes at once. Once she had covered both holes with enough tape to be relatively confident in the seal's structural integrity, Ahsoka went back inside. 

"We good to go?" Rex called from the front. 

"We should be," Ahsoka replied as the door closed behind her, before dropping down on a bench against the wall to watch the planet shrink to nothing in their wake. 

Remarkably, they made it nearly halfway before things started to go wrong. 

"Ahsoka," Rex called from the front, anxiety palpable and pressing at Ahsoka's mind. 

"What's happening?" Ahsoka asked, stepping into the cockpit to look. 

Rex gestured at a dial on the console, which was firmly in the red. "We're overheating. We need to land. 

Ahsoka cursed under her breath. The blasts had hit something important after all. 

"Where's the nearest system?" Ahsoka asked, glancing down at the map. 

"Not far," Rex replied. "I think we can make it if I'm careful." 

"Take us in, then," Ahsoka said firmly, strapping herself into the copilot's seat in a silent offer of help, should he need it. "We'll figure things out once we're on the ground." 

Rex nodded, and set the nav to Draay. 

The landing was... bumpy, to say the least. Expected, considering the state of their craft, but the rough jarring made Ahsoka's montrals ring with overwhelmed feedback. She rubbed at one, groaning in annoyance. 

"Sorry, sir," Rex said sheepishly, but Ahsoka brushed it off with a shake of her head. 

"We're alive, _vod._ My montrals will be fine." 

"And don't call me sir," Ahsoka added. "We're equ...als." 

"What's going on?" Rex asked as Ahsoka trailed off. The togruta was sitting up straight in her seat, looking like a loth-wolf with its ears pricked tracking a sudden sound. Ahsoka put her hand up for silence, and Rex complied. 

"There's someone here," Ahsoka said, breaking out of the trance to lock eyes with Rex. 

"The Empire?" Rex asked, alarmed. "This moon is uninhabited, they shouldn't-" 

"It's not the Empire," Ahsoka said. She reached out again, confirming what she'd felt. It was still there, just like before. The feeling of careful recognition of self Ahsoka hadn't expected to ever find again. 

"It's a Jedi." 

"It's..." Rex started, still processing. "What is a _Jedi_ doing all the way out here?" 

"I don't know," Ahsoka said. "I don't know, I thought they were all--I thought I was alone." 

Ahsoka's eyes prickled, but no tears came. She hadn't cried for a very long time, at least not while she was awake. Across from her, Rex took her hand. 

"Let's go find your Jedi," Rex said, voice firm and grounding as his grip. 

Ahsoka nodded, and they left the ship together, Rex's hand still locked with hers. 

* 

The walk through the forest was long, and at points Rex had started suspecting they were going in circles or something. Rex trusted Ahsoka, though, and Ahsoka trusted the Force, so he followed her lead through the brush with only minimal complaining. 

Eventually, Ahsoka stopped. The part of the forest they were in looked like every other part to Rex, but clearly Ahsoka could sense something he couldn't. The tip of her right montral twitched slightly as she stood with her head tilted. 

"Someone's moving," Ahsoka said, pointing in what was presumably the direction of the person in question. "We're close." 

Rex nodded. "Lead the way." 

Ahsoka turned in the direction of the apparent movement and walked decisively in that direction. Rex, as always, followed. 

After a few minutes, they came upon a clearing, trees giving way to the ruins of what had once been a large stone buiding. Rex looked at Ahsoka before moving to crouch by a particularly large bit of rubble. He ran a gloved thumb over the strangely familiar inlaid pattern, trying to place it in his mind. Beside him, Ahsoka crouched down, and it clicked in his mind where he knew these shapes from. 

"Ahsoka, this was..." 

Ahsoka nodded. "A Jedi Temple. I wonder what happened to it?" 

Before Rex could open his mouth to reply, Ahsoka stiffened, looking up from the carved stone surface in front of her. 

"I can give you a tour, if you like," someone said in Rex's voice. 

Rex shot to his feet, hand going for the blaster at his hip on instinct as he spun on his heel to face the long-haired clone who had come up from behind. Before he could make a move, though, Ahsoka was beside him with her arm in front of his chest in a silent _don't._

As it turned out, Rex didn't need to. The clone in front of them made no move to attack either of them, simply waiting for them to speak. 

"Why aren't you trying to kill her?" Rex asked, frowning. 

"What do you mean?" the clone asked. "Why would I want to kill her? The ruins aren't _that_ big a deal." 

"How long have you been here, trooper?" Rex asked after a moment. 

"Um, I got here in '957? CRC? So..." the clone frowned, counting under his breath. "Maybe a few years? Kind of hard to keep track after a while." 

"Don't the comm systems in the helmets have calendars?" Rex asked. 

"Yeah, if they work," Glitch shrugged. "Mine got kind of crushed." 

He glanced at the ruined Temple at that, then went silent. 

"Wait, you... you never got the Order, did you?" Rex realized. 

"Uh, no. I don't think so? Sorry. They don't really give you orders if they think you're dead." 

Rex suddenly felt a lot like how Ahsoka must have, sensing the Jedi that had brought them here. 

"What's your name, trooper," Rex said after a moment of stunned silence. 

"I'm Glitch," he said, smiling. "The Force told me you would come." 

* 

Glitch came with them willingly. 

He'd slipped back into the temple before they left to retrieve his damaged helmet, and Rex watched him run his fingers rhythmically over the painted purple stripes as they walked. Ahsoka still hadn't spoken since they'd found him, but Rex understood. He could wait for an explanation. Neither Rex nor Glitch spoke either on the journey back. Ahsoka slipped away to work on the engine as soon as they returned, leaving both clones to fend for themselves. 

"I'm Rex," Rex informed Glitch once they were both settled, taking his bucket off at setting it down beside him. "You have a lot to catch up on, _vod."_

_"Captain_ Rex?" Glitch stared, voice all starstruck shiny despite his painted shell. _"501st_ Captain Rex?" 

Rex laughed despite himself at the reaction, but sobered quickly. 

"501st is gone now," he said. "I'm not a Captain anymore." 

Glitch, who was staring at Rex's hair, nodded. "What happened?" 

"Order 66." 

* 

Ahsoka walked in right as Rex was wrapping up his explanation, eyeing both clones for a moment before disappearing into the cockpit. 

"Wait here," Rex told Glitch, and did the same. 

"What's the situation?" Rex asked once the door had slid shut. 

Ahsoka looked up with a jolt, too lost in thought to sense him as he came in. Rex frowned. 

"Engine should hold for now," Ahsoka said after a moment, voice clipped and unusually brittle. "I'm hailing the others to meet up with us." 

"Without your Jedi?" Rex asked, frowning. 

Ahsoka looked at him, eyes wide. "There was never any Jedi." 

"What? But you said you felt--" 

"Rex, I felt Glitch." 

"You-- What?" 

"It's Glitch. He's not a Jedi, he's force-sensitive. That's what I was feeling." 

"But he's a clone," Rex said slowly. "Clones can't--" 

"Apparently they can," Ahsoka said simply. 

Rex couldn't even argue with her. The concept of a force-sensitive clone was unheard of, it had always been assumed impossible. Glitch was right there, though, unmistakable proof that the Kaminoans and everyone else had been wrong, if Ahsoka was to be trusted, and Rex trusted Ahsoka with his life. 

Ahsoka jumped again when Rex started laughing, giving him an odd look. 

"A force-sensitive, free-thinking clone," Rex said, once he caught his breath. "That kid might actually be the most illegal person in the Empire, and he's been living on some backwater moon in the Outer Rim for years without a clue." 

Ahsoka stared at Rex hard for a few seconds. For a moment, Rex was certain he was about to be yelled at for insensitivity or something, but then Ahsoka's face went tight with a repressed smile and Rex watched in amazement as she burst into giggles. 

"He was just there," Ahsoka gasped, "the whole time! He didn't even know! He--" 

She cut herself off laughing again, and Rex watched her fondly, allowing her to grab at his knee for support. Gradually, the laughter died down to a quiet shake of her shoulders. 

"I thought I was alone," Ahsoka said, voice very small. When she looked up at him, Rex realized that at some point her laughter had turned into sobs. "I thought I was alone, but I'm not. I'm not the only one, I'm..." 

Rex just nodded, and Ahsoka leaned into it when he pulled her into a hug, allowing herself to be held and comforted like she was a youngling again until she was ready to go. 

Eventually, Ahsoka pulled away, rubbing at the tear tracks on her face as she stood 

"Sorry for breaking down on you there, Rex." 

"Not an issue," Rex replied. "I can handle the rest of this myself, you should go take a break." 

Ahsoka nodded, and left the cockpit without another word. 

Rex focused on his flying for a while after that, letting other thoughts fall away. Ahsoka's repairs held, and soon enough their shuttle was safely back in the hangar. Through the tinted transparisteel of the cockpit, Rex could see Kix and a few others waiting for their latest batch of rescued _vode._ He waved, smiling as he got a few waves back, and then stepped out into the shuttle proper to give Ahsoka a hand. 

The rescued troopers were out of the ship even more quickly with Glitch's help, each placed on a stretcher to be carried to the medbay proper, where a medical droid programmed to remove their chips was waiting. 

"Who's he?" Kix asked Rex on the way down. Ahsoka was gone by then, split off from the rest of the group with a "sorry, I need to go meditate." Glitch trailed behind the remaining two, looking at everything. 

"His name's Glitch," Rex replied. "We found him on Draay 2 when we had to stop for repairs. He never got the Order." 

_"Never?"_ Kix looked at Rex incredulously. 

"Nope," Rex replied. "His comm was broken, the message just never got through." 

"Huh," Kix said, and that was that. Kix and his team wheeled the new recruits away for dechipping. When a random guard poked his head into the waiting room to inform Rex he was needed somewhere else, Glitch was suddenly alone again. 

* 

Being alone was worse, Glitch thought, now that he hadn't been for a bit. It was worse when he knew other people were around, but couldn't talk to them. It was worse when the four _vode_ who had been in the shuttle on the way here felt like the place where he used to feel Horns. 

When the place where he used to feel Horns had gone blank, Glitch had thought it meant his best friend (only friend) was dead. He'd known when he felt it that something was very wrong, and dead was the only thing he could think of that would make someone go empty like that. It was probably his chip, Glitch thought now, which made sense because Horns didn't really feel like dead all along. Glitch wasn't sure if it was better, though. He didn't think Horns wanted to hurt people. He didn't think Horns would like wearing the armour in identical white. 

In the other room, one of the empty people became a person again, and Glitch froze. Slowly, he reached out to feel closer at the familiarity, jerking back with a gasp as he recognised them. Somehow, against all odds, it was Cannon on the other side of the wall. Glitch grinned. Cannon didn't like him, Glitch knew that even if Cannon didn't think he did, but right now Glitch couldn't bring himself to care. Mean or not, Cannon was someone Glitch knew. Since he was by himself, Glitch indulged in allowing his hand a little excited flap at his side. Maybe whoever was next would be another one of his old squadmates. 

Sure enough, after maybe fifteen minutes, another life lit up. Glitch reached out, but pulled back quickly. He didn't know who this one was, but they weren't one of his friends. Glitch tried not to let himself feel too disappointed. This person was important too, even if Glitch didn't know them. He was happy they got to be rescued too. 

The next clone dechipped was another stranger. Glitch bit his lip. What if it had only been Cannon they'd saved? Horns wasn't dead, now that Glitch knew what chipping was he could feel that that was what had happened to him, but all that meant was he was still with the Empire, and now he was _alone._

The rest of Horns' batch had been decommissioned. Horns hated being alone. 

The last chip went out. Glitch held his breath. 

_Ah,_ went the corner of Glitch's mind where, after far-too-long of nothing, he could _finally_ feel Horns again. _There you are._

When Kix came out to talk to Glitch about removing his own chip, he found Glitch already sobbing in relief. 

* 

The first person Horns saw when he woke up was Glitch, quietly staring at him the way he did. His hair was long, now, and pulled back in a little nerf tail, but it was definitely him. 

"Oh," said Horns. "I died." 

Horns' head hurt, like, a lot. He rubbed at his temple, except he didn't because there was a bacta patch on it. Was that how he died? It was weird that the wound still had to heal. Maybe he was just like this now? He hoped not. 

"Wow, _Manda_ kind of sucks," Horns observed. 

Glitch, who was still sitting there, laughed. 

"Sorry," Glitch said. "Maybe it sucks, but you're not actually dead so you don't know yet." 

Horns frowned. "But you--" 

"I didn't die, Horns. You just thought I did. It's okay, though, because I got rid of the gauntlet." 

Horns stared at his brother as he said all this like it wasn't even that big of a deal. 

"I missed you," Glitch added quietly. 

Horns, embarassingly, immediately burst into tears, just barely managing to choke out a reply. 

"I missed you too, _vod."_

Glitch reached across and gave Horns a hug after that, which was awkward because Horns was laying down and Glitch wasn't. Glitch solved this problem by climbing right into bed with Horns and curling around him like some kind of vine. 

"I knew you weren't dead," Horns whispered into the air. The part of him that had felt _wrong_ since Glitch had 'died' shifted, finally slotting right back into place. 

"Me too," Glitch said. "Was the force." 

Horns didn't even try to protest this time. Who knew, maybe Glitch was right. They fell asleep on top of each other like they did _before,_ and Horns had barely any nightmares at all.


End file.
